All of the New Jerseyans wrestling for out-of-state programs are either eliminated or battling in the wrestlebacks, including surprise upset victims Myles Martin of Ohio State and Joey McKenna of Stanford. Penn State's Nick Suriano withdrew due to injury on the eve of the tournament.

Martin won the national title at 174 pounds in 2016 but can fare no better than third place at 184 this season. McKenna finished third at 141 and will try to match that over the next two days.

"New Jersey breeds one of the toughest groups of kids around in wrestling and every sport," said Rutgers' 149-pounder Ken Theobold, whose upset of No. 2 Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State was the biggest in any bracket on the first day of competition.

"We have multiple All-Americans on the (coaching) staff, national champs," Princeton's Pat D'Arcy said. "We've got all the resources we need to succeed. We're all pushing each other."

"Every guy has his own style," Rider's Chad Walsh said of the New Jersey crew.

The feature bout for New Jersey fans Friday morning is a 141-pound quarterfinal between Princeton's Matthew Kolodzik and Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault as they meet for the fourth time in their careers. The verbal sparring began Thursday night before the physical sparring.

Action continues Friday at 11 a.m. with the quarterfinals. The semifinal round is at 8 p.m.